Adebayo Adenrele
In a bid to increase productivity and speed up justice delivery in Nigeria, Judges in Ekiti State would soon be working from home or any location as the Nigeria’s judiciary moves toward a fully digital case management system aimed at improving efficiency in the judicial system.
Rhe digital case management system will enable Judges to access case files, review evidence and make rulings remotely without necessarily appearing in court from the beginning to the end of cases.
The Chief Judge of Borno State and Chairman Judicial Information Technology Policy Committee of Nigeria, Hon Justice Kashim Zanna, stated this in Ado-Ekiti during a ’roundtable stakeholders discussion on the enrollment and onboarding of Ekiti State High Court’ into ‘the Nigeria Case Management System (NCMS) legal mail and e-filling application’, organised by Ekiti State Judiciary.
According to him, NCMS is an initiative of the National Judicial Council (NJC) implemented through the Judicial Information Technology Policy Committee (JITPO) to streamline and automate court processes in order to enhance efficiency, transparency and access to justice.
This digital platform, will enable the Court to modernise the nation’s justice system through the Nigeria Case Management System, an electronic platform designed to enable remote filing, processing and adjudication of cases.Justice Zanna, noted that the country’s largely paper-based justice system has become outdated and incapable of delivering the efficient and timely justice Nigerians expect.
He explained that the new system would allow courts across the country to carry out significant aspects of their work digitally, improving speed, transparency and accessibility, while lawyers and Judges would be able to file cases from any location and perform many judicial functions remotely.
The Chief Judge disclosed that Ekiti State has already acquired the required hardware and completed staff training under the initiative, adding that stakeholders have shown strong enthusiasm for the reform and are expected to fully adopt the system soon.
He urged judges to embrace the transition despite initial discomfort, describing the shift as necessary for both institutional efficiency and personal well-being.
The Borno Chief Judge equally tasked lawyers to prepare for an irreversible shift toward digital legal practice, advising them to upgrade their skills and invest in basic technology such as laptops and case-management tools.
His words, “Our justice system has been paper-based, and that no longer guarantees effective and efficient justice delivery.
“Nigerian society is already accustomed to faster services from banking to travel bookings and the judiciary cannot afford to remain analog.
“They may be moving out of their comfort zone, but it is for good. Their health will benefit, the work will benefit, and the confidence our people repose in the courts will improve.
“This is the future. There is no going back. Lawyers must upskill, learn how to file cases, prepare documents and conduct proceedings electronically.
“We’re very encouraged by the enthusiasm displayed here in Ekiti State and very soon they will be on board and lawyers can now thereafter file their cases from whatever location and judges too can do their work from whatever location, sometimes not even needing to come to the court at all from the beginning of a case up to the end so that our people can have confidence in our justice system and get the justice that they deserve”.
In his remarks, the Chief Judge of Ekiti State, Hon. Justice Lekan Ogunmoye disclosed that the state judiciary had established a data centre, installed local area networks, provided computer systems and conducted training for judges and court personnel, while some ICT staff had undergone advanced training at the NJC in Abuja.
Justice Ogunmoye explained that the NCMS would streamline court processes through features such as case tracking, document management, automated alerts and analytical reporting, which he said would help reduce delays, curb corruption and enhance judicial performance.
Also speaking, the Ekiti State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Dayo Apata (SAN), described the NCMS as a critical national reform aimed at strengthening efficiency and accountability across courts.
He noted that the system aligns with the constitutional mandate of the National Judicial Council (NJC) to ensure effective administration of justice and promote uniform standards across federal and state judiciaries.
According to Apata, the digital platform will enable electronic case management from filing to final disposition, reduce reliance on manual processes and improve access to reliable judicial data.
